Flow experiences, Self-efficacy and Eustress of University Students: A cross-cultural comparison between the Philippines and Argentina

BELÉN MESURADO; NINO JOSE MATEO

París

Congreso; 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology; 2014

Recent cross-cultural evidence suggests cultural variations in the conceptualization of happiness and well-being (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, Uchida & Ogihara, 2012). To date, no research has looked into the cultural differences in the experience of Flow. Flow is defined as a state of complete absorption and concentration when one is engaged in an activity leading one to focus on the activity alone (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Previous researchers have shown that optimal mental states during academic activities can be experimented. In addition, variables such as self-efficacy (i.e. people?s beliefs in their own capabilities) and eustress (i.e. healthy, positive, constructive outcome of stressful events and the stress response) have been found to be associated with study-flow. The aim of this research is to compare the levels of study-flow experiences, self-efficacy, and eustress by university students from countries representative of Asia and Latin America- Philippines and Argentina. One hundred seventy six Filipinos and 171 Argentinean students participated in this study by completing inventories on Optimal Experience Survey (Mesurado, 2008), Self-efficacy Scale (O?Sullivan, 2013) and Eustress Scale (O?Sullivan, 2013). Results show that Argentinean students reported higher levels of selfefficacy and lower levels of eustress than Filipino students. No difference, however, were found between students of the two countries on study-flow experiences levels. Results were discussed in light of cultural differences in the experience of flow between the two countries.